Roses and more roses

Lots are out at the moment. The rain has meant that they are growing strongly and the new ones are establishing well. The downside is that some of the more flouncy flowers are prone to rot. This one doesn't care and is a bit of a thug but it's beautiful now and in the autumn with small hips and is a magnet for the hibernating ladybird population.

Helichrysum fridgidum

One of my favourite foliage plants for the alpine house, Helichrysum fridgidum from Corsica. It tends to get a bit brown at the base and needs to be cut back to keep it neat and silver. It sometimes gets attacked by greenfly that kill it by covering it with honey dew that goes moldy, but it's easy to keep going from cuttings. It also roots branches if they lean out into the plunge sand.

Gift

Some rooted cuttings of Pelegonium "Morweena" from my father. What a fantastic colour and texture. Thanks Dad!

Caterpillar surprise

I went out a little while ago to tidy up some nettles in front of the garden wall before the butterflies got to them (I have some other little corners where last year I had Red Admiral and Comma caterpillars that I'm allowing to grow this year) but too late! I saw this and first I thought it was a Small Tortoiseshell but then I realised..it looks more like a Scarlet Tiger moth. The irony is that for two years running I've been out at nature reserves to find this but with no luck. I've seen it a couple of times in Newbury town centre and Oxford, but never in a non urban setting. It seems an odd place to be, I thought they liked damp places and here we on on dry hills.

Enjoy it while you can

I understand Bluebell woods are a bit of an English speciality. Where the canopy is not too dense woods primary in the south are wreathed in a blue ground mist at this time of year and the air is filled with a subtle scent of hyacynths. Individually the plants don't look that great, but they grow in their thousands in some places, flowering now before the broadleaf forest cuts out the light and steals all the water. This particular patch is in an arboretum, there are others in local nature reserves. After surviving development or the neglest of woodland (leading to over density of trees) the threat is now from global warming and hybridisation with the more garden worthy spanish bluebell that has escaped from gardens, so enjoy them while you can!

A trough in Spring

The troughs have not really been a success. Everything in the new Zealand trough and the biggest one has lost a number of plants though some very unexpected ones, e.g Asperula daphneola and a Sarcocapnos survived for several years. generally it is too shady, but as it's attached to a wall that's not an easy thing to put right. It's a bit shallow too..if it sounds like a disaster it's worth pointing out it is a genuine stone item, not a sink but something else and it's old!

Well, it's been incredibly dry here. The water butt ran out over two weeks ago and yesterday I noticed the trough was really dry, it's quickly recovered and you can see Gentiana verna, a small Androsace sempervoides (I love the way the eye of the flowers go from yellow to red on many of the Androsace's) and one of my favourite willows, Salix reticulata.

Joy of Pears - part2

Apart from eating the fruit and making artwork out of the multicoloured autumn leaves, I also love the blossom and the new pear leaves. Overall unlike apples and cherry, that look great now it seems to keep a smart appearance when the leaves mature too. So let's hear it for pears!

A variety of Fritillaria...

Just a few to show they don't all look alike. From the top, F.davisii (from seed), F.conica (yellow), F.recurva the red Frit (from seed), then F. amana and finally F. erhartii (again from seed).

The most obvious plants for the last month...

All in the greenhouse, as I'm a bit behind with posting i thought I would do these as a job lot. First up, Tecophilaea in it's pale form, Cyclamen libanoticum (representing the various Cylamen out at the moment, the tail end of C.coum, P.persicum, C. pseudo-ibericum and the repandum group). The Muscari macrocarpum Golden Fragrance rising above the Tecophilaeas. Although this may not be as visually imposing it has been filling the greenhouse with it's spicy scent for a month now. Finally, one of the Primula allionii forms. This one is Crystal, opens pure white and fades to mid pink.

A snowy scene

We don't often get snow here so I took the opportunity to get out and take some pics..this is one of the Quinces, Pink Lady possibly..it flowers throughout the winter and seems indestructable.

Saxifrage starting it's engine

Despite half of the cushion disappearing in summer (slugs? birds? alien abduction?) this particular one has come back and should do something interesting soon. I moved the trough (it's a light weight one) to just outside the back door so it can be admired even from inside.

back to the world of the sensible...

Something is flowering at it's proper time. This is Cyclamen coum forma albumissum (I think that's right). That is the pure white Coum, no plum purple blotch (pallidum). The "nose" on this one is a sort of grey/transparent shade. What you can't see is a set of dark magenta buds, these were raised from Cyclamen Society seed and inevitably they don't all breed true. But there seem to be at least two white plants in the pot. I'm still trying to get back one of the other white Coums, "Golan Heights" which is different in having plain green leaves and from memory was an even better flower. I have young seedlings and I think that strain does breed true, so fingers crossed!

What's pink, shrubby and flowers in mid Winter?

..apparently it's a floribunda rose. Not stopped flowering since Summer. In theory, without frosts I guess it could go through the whole year. No leaves mind you, so it's going to be a bit tired by spring.